Tractor mounted rotary chopper



, June 16, 1953 J. F. PILSNER TRACTOR MOUNTED ROTARY CHOPPER Filed Feb.14. 1948 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 2. 5 Rm w h m y "ma MW & P E Q, 5 M a J Y W Bm 9 s a :l a 5, g g 8 5 6 5 9 3 3 w 3 m w ATZURNZ'Y J. F. PILSN ERTRACTOR MOUNTED ROTARY CHOPPER June 16, 1953 2.Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Feb.14. 1948 Jorm F. PILSNEK nvmvrox.

WM \w N WN M. .M L N N R a w I iwf a, a h mwmw Q mum Patented June 16,1953 OFFICE I I 7 2,641,981 1 TRAGTOR MOUNTED ROTARYCHOPPER;

John F. Pilsner, Roscoe, Tex.

- Application February 14, 1948,'-S'erial No. 8,337

' ClailnSLi (01.91

. This invention. relatesv to newsand useful im:-: provements .intractor-mounted. chopping de-.-

vices; I

One object. of .theinvention is to provide an improved tractor-mountedpower take-off driven mechanical chopper particularly designed forchopping cotton or other,similarrowrplants in order to thin out .therowsand'leave, only the desired number of plants or groups of plants. standingJin therows;

An importantv objectv of the invention is to provide'ina chopping deviceof the character described a pair. .ofispaced parallel drive shafts.havingchopping. blades. mounted on one end thereof, and.eachindependently driven at the other endfrom; theitractor powertake-off shaft.

Afurther object of the .invention is to provide a choppingdevice'of thecharacter described havingadrive; shafts. of .the character describedincluded therein and whichis so constructed and arranged that the.shaftsgmaybe driven at different ratesofspeed, or may rotatein eitherdirection, or wherein either shaft may be disconnected andrendered,inoperative, if desired.-

Anotherobjectof the invention .is to provide a chopping device of thecharacter, described wherein the. shafts. are provided with means forelevating one end of. the. same, whereby the chopping blades may berendered inactive at will.

A particular object of the invention is to provide in a chopping deviceof the character described.- meansfor readily changing the speed ofrotation of the shafts carrying. the cutter blades to meet varyingconditions of use, such.

means being so constructed and arranged that the speed of. rotation. ofeither shaft may be alteredindependentlyoi the other shaft if desired.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a chopping deviceof the character described wherein the chopping blades are positioned inclear view of the operator of the tractor, whereby the results of usevmay be observed and the need for adjustment may, be readily determined.A .particularly important object of the invention is to provide, in achopping device of the character described, chopping blade carryingmeans which is so constructed and arranged that the blades areadjustable in distance radially from the drive shaft'to adjust thefrequency of the chopping strokeand to accommodate differentconditionsof use. I

Another object of the invention is to provide a chopping device of thecharacter described which may be easily attached and removed from thetractor on which it is used.

Still another object of the invention is to provide. a chopping devicewhich is simple in structure and economical to manufacture and use, andwhich'is readily adjustable. to fit different types of tractors. v

Additional. objects and advantages of the .invention will readily'beapparent from the read:

ing of the: following description of a device. constructed-in accordancewith the invention, and: reference to the accompanying drawings thereof;

wherein;

Figurel is a plan view of a tractor having a chopping deviceconstructedin accordance with the invention installed. thereon,

Figure. 2 is a side elevation of the same with a,

part of the tractor cut away,

Figure 3 is an enlarged isometric view of the chopping device,

Figure 4 is a longitudinal. vertical sectional.

are mounted-on the elongate? chopper driveshafts.

In the drawings, the numeral Ii} designates. generally atractorrhavingiront steerable ground. wheels, H andspaced large reardrive wheels 12.

The tractor is also provided with the usualrear power take-off shaft l3and rear draw bar It, and has the customary adjustable cultivatororimplement beams l5 which may be raised and lowered vertically bymeans ofa bell crank linkage l6 and a lever arm I] manipulated by the operatorof thetractor. The foregoing structure all constitutes a part of theconventional.

farm tractor, the same being, illustrated sche-. matically in thedrawings.

The chopping device includesa pair of spaced elongate drive shafts 20disposed longitudinally of the tractor and positioned on each.sidethereof inside the rear drive wheels.v 1.2. The shafts 20 are eachsupported at their rear end infa bearing block 2|, preferably of hardwood, which blocks are securely fixed or mounted by means of U-bolts 22on a transverse substantially cylindrical cross member 23. The crossmember 23 is adjustably mounted below the draw bar It of the tractor bymeans of eye bolts. 24 which are adjustably secured to the draw bar bymeans of nuts threaded on the. saidv eye bolts. member extends throughthe eyes of the eye bolts, and is held in proper position withv respectto the tractor by means of movable collars 25 which, are slid'able onthe cross member and may be secured in position thereon by set screws 25to positively restrain the. cross member against longitudinal movementwith respect. to the eye bolts. V l

The front end of each drive. shaft 29 is rotatably mounted in a.bearinghblock l'l pref-v erablyof hard. wood, and each bearing. blockg2? The cross is swingably secured by means of U-bolts 28 to the lowerhorizontal cross portion of a U-shaped hanger or support 29 which hasits upright arm adjustably secured by set screws to the implement beamsof the tractor.

Substantially T-shaped chopper heads 30 are mounted on the forward endof each shaft 20, and the cross piece of each chopper head is preferablytubular, whereby one arm of an L-shaped chopper blade carrier 3| may beinserted in each tubular arm of the chopper head cross-piece, and may beadjustably secured in place therein by means of set screws 32. EachL-shaped chopper blade carrier has welded or otherwise secured thereto aflat elongate substantially rectangular chopper blade 33, and the bladecarriers and chopper blades are so positioned that the blades and thearms of the carriers on which the blades are mounted extend rearwardlyfrom the chopper head cross-piece with the longitudinal axis of thechopper blades parallel to the drive shaft. The longitudinal edges oneach side of the chopper blades are sharpened to provide for choppingvegetation as the shaft is rotated to rotate the chopper head and swingthe blade carriers 3|. The distance which the chopper blades 33 arespaced radially from the rotatable drive shaft 26 may be varied byadjusting the position of the carrier members 3| in each arm of thechopper head 30.

A circular flat disc or hub 35 is welded or otherwise afiixed to therear end of each drive shaft 26 and is constructed and arranged to havelarge driven pulleys 36 secured thereto by means of bolts 31, as bestshown in Figure 3. Each of the pulleys 36 is formed of two circular flatdisclike members 38 having their adjacent peripheral edges beveled orinclined inwardly to form a groove 38a between said disc members forreceiving a V-belt 39. By providing spacer washers 40 between each ofthe disc sections 38 of the pulley, the spacing between the discsections may be varied to vary the effective diameter of the belt groove38a of the large driven pulley 36, whereby the radius at which theV-belt 39 will be gripped between the disc sections may be varied. Inthis manner the speed of rotation of the driven pulley 36 may bealtered. The washers are mounted on the bolts 31 extending through eachof the disc sections 38 of the pulley.

For driving the V-belt 39, in order to drive the large driven pulleys 36and rotate the drive shafts 26, a variable pitch double-sheave pulley isprovided. The double-sheave pulley is mounted on the rear'power take-offshaft i3 of the tractor and is so positioned that the V-belt from one ofthe driven pulleys 36 is mounted in one of the belt grooves of thedouble-sheave pulley and the V-belt from the other driven pulley 36 ismounted in the other belt groove of said pulley, whereby saiddouble-sheave pulley is driven by the power take-off shaft and in turndrives the large driven pulleys 36 by means of the V-belts 39 to causerotation of the drive shafts 20. Rotation of the drive shafts swings thecutter blades 33 about the forward end of the shaft to cause said cutterblades to cut or chop vegetation.

The double-sheave pulley 45 includes a hollow shaft 56 having anintegral or fixed radially extending circular disc 5| mounted centrallythereon. A movable disc 52 is screw-threaded onto the hollow shaft 56 onone side of the fixed disc 5|, and a similar movable disc 53 isscrew-threaded onto the hollow shaft on the opposite side of said fixeddisc. The movable discs 52 and 53 and the fixed disc 5| have theiradjacent sides diverging outwardly, whereby a V-shaped annular space orbelt groove 52a is provided between the movable disc 52 and the fixeddisc. 5|, and a similar V-shaped belt groove 53a is provided between thefixed disc 5| and the movable disc 53. By rotating the discs 52 and 53on the screwthreaded hollow shaft 50, said discs may be moved toward oraway from the central stationary disc 5| to widen or narrow the V-shapedannular belt grooves or spaces therebetween, whereby the effectivediameter of the drive pulley belt grooves may be varied. The movablediscs 52 and 53 are secured in adjusted positions on the hollow shaft 50by means of set screws 54 which are threaded in radial openings formedin said discs and engage the hollow shaft to prevent further rotativemovement of ths discs on said shaft. The hollow shaft 56 is removablymounted on a solid stub shaft or mandrel 56 projecting axially outwardlyfrom one end of a sleeve 51 which is adapted to fit and be secured onthe power takeoff drive shaft I3 of the tractor. A set screw 58 isthreaded through the wall of the hollow shaft 50 and engages the mandrel56 to secure the hollow shaft in place on the mandrel, whereby thesheave discs 5|, 52 and 53 may be rotated by the tractor power take-offdrive shaft 13 to drive the V-belts 33 and rotate the driven pulleys 36and the drive shafts 26 connected therewith.

A pair of stop collars 60 are mounted on the drive shafts 20 on eachside of the rear bearing blocks 2|, and are secured in place thereon byset screws 6| for limiting longitudinal movement of the drive shaft withrespect to the bearing blocks and correctly aligning and positioning thelarge driven pulleys 36 with respect to the small double-sheave pulley45, whereby the V-belts 39 may be properly mounted in the beltrgroovesof said double-sheave pulley '45 and large driven pulleys 36.

Likewise, the lateral position of the bearing blocks 2| on thecross-member 23 may be predetermined and fixed by tightening the U-bolts22 to secure the blocks on the cross-member at the desired lateralposition.

In order to accommodate different tractor lengths or sizes, each of thedrive shafts 20 is preferably formed of sections of tubular metal orpipe which are joined by couplings 62, whereby the length of the shaftmay be controlled by selecting and connecting a central section 63 ofproper length in the drive shaft.

The forward end of the drive shafts 26 and the cutter blades carriedthereby may be moved to an inoperative position by lifting th implementcross beam I5 by means of the lever I1 and linkage I6 in the customarymanner. Thus, the cutter blades 33 may be lifted out of operativeposition, or may be lowered into operative position, or the cutterblades may be adjusted in height to accommodate different conditions ofuse, as desired.

Likewise, the length of the eye bolts 24, by means of which thecross-member 23 is secured to the draw bar IA of the tractor, is suchthat the height of the rear end of the shafts 20 may be adjusted to setand maintain said shafts in the proper horizontal position when theshafts are in operative position. The threaded eyebolts also provide forthe adjustment or tightening of the V-belts which turn the drive shafts.

The eye bolts 24 permit the cross-member 23 to rotate in the eye portionof said bolts when the forward ends ofth drive shafts'20 are lifted.

front bearing blocks 21 are connected to the U-,

shaped hanger member 29 permit the bearing blocks to rotate on thehorizontal bottom cross section of said U-shaped hanger member.

In use, the U-shaped, hanger members 29 are adjusted to the properheight to permit the cutter blades 33 carried by the chopper head 30 tostrike the ground in the proper position to chop the cotton plants orother row crops. The small double-sheave pulley 45 and the large drivenpulleys 35 at the rear of the chopping device are then adjusted toprovide the proper belt groove sizes to give the proper speed ofrotation to the elongate drive shafts 20 for the particular tractorpower take-off shaft speed. The

tractor is then put into motion andthe power take-off shaft started torotating, whereuponthe chopper head 30 are rotated and the chopperblades 33 are swung to cut or chop out portions of the rows of plants.When the end of the rows has been reached, the implement cross beam [5is elevated to lift the chopper blade 33 out of operative position andpermit the tractor to be turned and started along a new pair of rows ofcotton or other row crops.

The radial spacing of the chopper blades from the drive shaft may bevaried by adjusting the L-shaped carried arms 3| in the chopper head 30,whereby the circular travel of the chopper blade is varied to vary theinterval between chopping strokes at any given speed of rotation of thedrive shafts 20. I It is particularly important to not that the speed ofrotation of the chopper heads and the chopper blades may be furthercontrolled by adjusting the belt groove diameters of the small doubladjustable sheave pulley and the large adjustable driven pulleys 36. e

From the foregoing, it will be seen that an improved chopping device hasbeen provided which is adapted to be mounted on a tractor and driven bythe power take-off shaft of, the tractor,

that the speed of rotation of the drive shafts of' said chopping devicemay be varied by varying the effective pulley sheave diameters of theadjustable small double-sheave drive pulley and the large adjustabledriven ulleys on each of the shafts. Furthermore, the radial spacing ofthe chopper blades with respect to the drive shafts may be varied, tovary the arc of travel through which the chopper blades must turn, tofurther vary the chopping interval. It will also be seen that the driveshafts of the chopping device are each independently driven from thedoublesheave adjustable drive pulley, whereby each of the shaft may bedriven at different rates of speed or may be rotated in differentdirections. Likewise, the chopper blades of the chopping device may beelevated out of operative position, or lowered into operative position,and adjusted in operating position, as desired.

It will also be seen that the chopping device is simple and economicalto construct, and may be readily and easily installed on or attachedtoand removed from the tractor on which it is used. Manifestly, thechopping device may be adjusted to accommodate different conditions ofuse, whereby different row crops may be cultivated by means of itschopping blades, and different intervals of chopping provided for.Furthermore, it is readily manifest that the chopping device is easilyadjustable, whereby it may be fitted to and mounted on varicus types oftractors so as to be-substantially universal in its application to saidtractors.

The foregoing description of the invention is explanatory only, andchanges in the details of the construction illustrated may be made bythose skilled in the art, within the scope of the appended claims,without departing from the spirit of the invention.

What I claimand desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A chopping device adapted to be mounted on and operated by means ofatractor having a forward vertically adjustable implement beam, a reardraw bar and a rear power take-off shaft and including, a pair ofelongate spaced drive shafts, means for adjustably connecting the rearportion of the drive shafts with the rear draw bar of the tractor, meansfor adjustably connecting the forward portion of the drive shafts withthe vertically adjustable implement beam of the tractor, cutter meanscarried by the front end of each drive shaft and spaced radiallytherefrom and swingable in a circle about the longitudinal axis of thedrive shaft as said shaft is rotated, a pulley at the rear end of eachdrive shaft, an adjustable double sheave pulley connected with the powertake-off shaft of the tractor, an endless flexible belt mounted in thesheave of each drive shaft pulley and extending from said drive shaftpulley to one of the adjustable sheaves of the double sheave pulleywhereby the drive shafts are rotated and driven by the tractor powertake-off shaft, the adjustable .double sheave pulley providing forchanges in diameter of the belt groove of each of the sheaves of saiddouble sheave pulley whereby the speed of rotation of each of the driveshafts may be controlled independently of the other.

2. A chopping device of the character set forth in claim 1 wherein, theelongate spaced drive shafts are each formed of a plurality of sections,whereby the lengths of said shafts may be adjusted.

3. A chopping device of the character set forth in claim 1 wherein, theconnection between the forward end of each drive shaft and the implementbeam of the tractor is adjustable vertically to permit adjustments inheight of the front end of the drive shafts, said vertically movableimplement beam also providing means for elevat ing and lowering thefront ends of the drive shafts carrying the cutter means to adjust thecutter means into and out of operative position.

JOHN F. PILSNER.

References Cited in the file of this patent I UNITED STATES PATENTS INumber Name Date 407,512 Clark, July 23, 1889 1,776,830 Chenault Sept.30, 1930 1,828,615 Pearce Oct. 20, 1931 2,182,157 McDermott Dec. 5, 19392,254,380 Mitchell Sept. 2, 1941

